There have been more than 20 bomb threats against University of Pittsburgh buildings over the last 7 weeks, but authorities have no suspects. Two new threats against multiple buildings were received Thursday, one at 10:00 AM and the other about 12 hours later.
Campus police, federal authorities and experts are stumped by the threats that have prompted building evacuations.
Although the threats received more attention after a gunman fatally shot one person and wounded several others at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Western Psychiatric Institute March 8, the string of threats actually began February. 13.
At first, the threats were scrawled on bathroom stalls. Lately, they’ve been emailed sometimes to reporters at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
No bombs have been found and nobody has been hurt, though some students say they may live off campus and commute to classes until the threats end.
Pitt spokesman John Fedele says the university is not at this time calculating the costs of evacuating buildings and responding to the threats, but officials realize there are numerous costs every time a threat is made including missed class time and missed work by employees. Fedele says when it’s quieted down Pitt will assess the overall cost.
